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Tennessee football: Vols greatest win vs. every current and former SEC opponent

By Caleb Calhoun

6 Dec 1997: Jamal Lewis #31 of Tennessee leaps over a pile of players for a touchdown during the Volunteers 30-29 win over Auburn in the SEC Championship at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia.
6 Dec 1997: Jamal Lewis #31 of Tennessee leaps over a pile of players for a touchdown during the Volunteers 30-29 win over Auburn in the SEC Championship at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. /
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Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images
Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images /

9. Vanderbilt Commodores

Year: 1914 (Away)

Final score: Tennessee wins 16-14

Before the Alabama Crimson Tide under Bear Bryant and Nick Saban or the Florida Gators under Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer, one school had Tennessee football’s number like no other. And it was the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Similar to the Sewanee Tigers, these two Tennessee schools owned the Vols in the early years of college sports. Vanderbilt went 11-0-1 in their first 12 games against the Vols, and even as the program was on the rise, they could never get over the hump.

As a result, 1914 is when they can celebrate their best win over Vandy. Using the Straight T formation in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, where both UT and Vanderbilt played, Zora G. Clevenger was the first coach to take the Vols to championship level.

In 1914, his fourth season, the Vols started 6-0 and 3-0 in the SIAA. They could potentially win their first conference championship ever. But with that record, they had to travel to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt, a team they had never beaten. The ‘Dores were 2-3, but it didn’t matter. They owned the Vols so badly people still thought Vandy would win, as they did in 1913 7-6.

But this would be the year UT finally got over the hump. They used the forward pass with prominent quarterback W. E. “Bill” May and their talented star in Alonzo Marcellus “Goat” Carroll, Jr. to win. May hit Carroll for a 35-yard touchdown pass four minutes in to set the tone. Carroll then added a field goal and another touchdown to secure a thrilling 16-14 win.

This victory was a turning point for the Vols, as it took them to a new level. They would then beat Sewanee and the Kentucky Wildcats to finish 9-0 and SIAA champs. That first taste of success set the stage for future dominance, and by Robert Neyland’s retirement, Vanderbilt would no longer hold the series advantage in this rivalry.

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